Marum upgraded to Excellence Cluster

Bremen succeeds in excellence initiative: Research Center Ocean Margins chosen as excellence cluster

The status of the MARUM Research Center Ocean Margins will be upgraded to an excellence cluster. The decision was announced this afternoon in the second round of the excellence initiative by the authorizing committee composed of scientists and politicians. This entails an increase in funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) of 7.5 million Euro over the next five years.
 
In May, a MARUM-delegation presented the concept of “The Ocean in the Earth System” to an international panel of experts. The concept centers on a new research area, investigating black smokers and other hot vents at the sea floor. “Within the excellence cluster we want to use the new research area to investigate how geological and biological processes interact at hot vents. We are especially interested in hydrogen sulfide and other substances that rise through the rock and act as fuels for the ecosystems at and within the sea floor“, explains Prof. Wolfgang Bach, head of the newly approved research area. “Bacterial communities play a leading role in the carbon cycle in the deep sea and are therefore important for the global climate“.

“The new research area optimally complements our five existing research areas”, comments Prof. Gerold Wefer, director of the MARUM. “During the past several years we have expanded our marine technology park with dive robots and other state-of-the-art instruments. This puts us in line with leading marine research institutes worldwide. These cutting-edge technologies will also help to achieve the goals set for the new research area“.


“The excellence initiative is a recognition of the successful work of the MARUM network”, comments Renate Jürgens-Pieper, Bremen’s Senator for Education and Science, with regard to today’s award. The nomination as one of Germany’s 30 excellence clusters acknowledges once more the significance of marine research in Bremen and northern Germany. Already during the first round of the excellence initiative last year, the MARUM received funding for the graduate school GLOMAR, “Global Change in the Marine Realm”. Nationwide, 40 such training schools for doctoral students are funded by the excellence initiative.

“Together with other marine working groups at the university, the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, and the Research Institute Senckenberg in Wilhelmshaven, we have a very well connected infrastructure for investigating the world’s oceans at an excellent level” , concludes Prof. Gerold Wefer. ”Today’s decision offers outstanding possibilities for strengthening existing cooperations, for example, with the Jacobs University and the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Oceans in Oldenburg.”


Further information/lnterviews/ Images:
Albert Gerdes
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
MARUM_Forschungszentrum Ozeanränder
Tel. 0421 – 218-65540
Tel.: 0172 43 77 986
Email:
www.marum.de